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Tapestries: Interwoven voices of local and global identities

Abstract

This article analyzes the worker cooperative landscape in Chicago, defining both the historical roots of the movement and the current barriers and supports faced by worker-owners. The paper takes two approaches. First, I compile existing research related to worker cooperatives, labor history, and the solidarity economy in order to trace the roots of Chicago's present-day worker cooperative landscape. Secondly, to more specifically delineate the supports and barriers currently encountered by worker co-ops, I conducted descriptive interviews with several members of Chicago-based cooperative incubation and worker rights organizations. Thematic analysis of their comments helped me to outline certain factors at play in the viability of worker cooperatives and similar solidarity economy structures in the city, namely how the confluence of municipal, non-profit, and community support enables worker co-op development. Through these two approaches, I point to some of the support strategies within the worker cooperative ecosystem in Chicago, and contextualize the growing networks which lay a foundation for a robust solidarity economy in the city.

Author Biography

Katherine Norquist (she/her) is graduating with a double major in American Studies and Creative Writing. She is from Chicago, Illinois.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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